New AIPs in IA and MPI

[Raven]

You can't detect or visually see units or buildings (hostile) that are outside of your radar range in a relay (I think thats it) And you still in that relay bunker all the time?

As for the disapearance off radar, you sure its not so high that it's outside your range? Otherwise it's either a bug or something that I dont "do"

[Spawn]

In 1.2 you couldn't get a visual on any units outside the bunker's detect range unless it was near another building of yours, vehicles only made units a red box so you could see that something was there, just not what and couldn't tell things to attack.  In 1.3 units give the same "view" as buildings, but archers and turrets go invisible on radar when they land/deploy, so your units need line of sight to go after them or an attack command.

And in dogfights sabres are destroyed by warriors given a smart scion commander, but is a good general unit, but given it's upgraded cost being the same as a stock rocket tank, those would be MUCH better for defending, especially against scions.

[llulla]

That is not what I meant, about the visibility. It is obvious that from Command Bunker you can't see everything-yes I prefer to play from Bunker.  It is like playing chess with the computer but, of course, I mix myself in action especially when I attack the bases mostly on an modified Attila.
I was saying that I can send AI units, including RTs, to a nav from where Archers are bombing me. The units go there, almost in contact with the Archers, and don't SEE them. The archers keep bombing in the presence of my AIs and, get destroyed ONLY when they engage the unit  itself. If they keep bombing some other target instead of the AI units I send very, very close, no harm will come to the Archer? I keep standby units only for rapid intervention in areas of the map where my situation gets  critical but, they are useless for getting rid of already deployed Archers  .

[llulla]

To continue on RT+Hornet score, I tried it when playing the IA map FORTRESS included with 1.3 (a difficult one). I set RTs to guard two rather long lanes that lead to the Scion base inside the Fortres. Some were stock with Salwo and some modified with Hornet. To my surprise they reacted at exactly the same distance to attacking Maulers. At this point of the map the Maulers are in staright line of sight from a long distance, but RTs+Hornet did not take advantage of their range. They reacted at approximately the same distance as Salvo RTs??

[Spawn]

Hornet needs time to lock onto a mauler, which could be the problem there.  Did you try sendign a full scout after the archers?  If a scout is near an enemy it will paint whatever is nearest, and if that is the archer then it would become highlighted on the radar and your screen for you to send units to attack.  Did you try telling the unit to hold when they are near the archer?  That could help, but they would still need line of sight, though the easiest way is probablly yourself in a scout and fill one with chain

[Red Devil]

Archers have a very high heat signature, but a very low image signature and no radar signature, so the Hornet should lock on pretty quick, but not a Shadower or Popper and shouldn't show up on radar at all. 

How close do you get the RT's to the Archers?  Maybe they can't angle down to them very well.  The Archer's com point is kinda low, so maybe when they deploy, their Com points sink down a bit so the terrain hide's it.

unitName = "Archer"
aiName = "AttachOffensive"
aiName2 = "AttachOffensive"

heatSignature = 10.0
imageSignature = 0.1
radarSignature = 0.0

isAssault = 1

[Spawn]

I don't think poper locks on so it wouldn't be affected by radar, but a missile like comet cruise would be.

[APCs r evil]

Popper doesn't really lock on like a missile does.. As long as you have something (T)argeted, the first stage of the Popper will fire a projectile directly at where the target will be if it continues moving at the same speed in the same direction. Basically, it aims directly at the (T)arget (L)ead (I)ndicator and does not turn toward it's target at all.

[llulla]

What is the difference between the levels <Default 1.3 Set> and <Standard  1.3 v3.3 set>, probably I didn't write it exactly. I have been playing with the "Standard..." thing and at moment looks like it is cheating but, on other occasions is perfectly honest!!!!

Returning to the Archer anomaly.
The last two days (nights more precisely ) I have been playing High&Low map and because, of the anomaly they have given me a headache. My AI units were attacking any flying archer but not the deployed ones. In this map the archers prefer the vertical wall that connets high and low planes. Once deployed start bombing my units on the high plane near the Extractor  closest to ISDF base. I decided to see it myself and hopped on my Scout ordering two Sabres to follow. I went at the base of the middle wall and ordered Sabres to a position so close to the Archers that their cannons were almost touching them. Of course, Archers were perfectly visible and I, or my AIs, could burn them any time  but I was experimenting the behavior. Archers went on to scrap every unit I had on the higher plane and the Sabres were hypnotized. Only when the Archer cleaned all units other and decided to target on us died almost instantly.
I tried the same with RTs and Assault tanks and the latter behaves a little better but, generally, the problem persists. Unless you specifically order your AI unit to kill the Archer it will not do it like it does with any other Scion units.
Can someone see this thing more deep?? 

[wug]

Default 1.3 is the original AIP set written way back when (by GSH?  GreenHeart?  Red Devil?).  It's the original and probably most compatible, but it's a bit glitchy and not very fine-tuned, IMHO.  Standard and the others are written by me.  The AI does not cheat in Standard in any way; it should be a bit more efficient and a tougher opponent than Default 1.3.

As for the Archers, maybe the problem is that after a certain elevation, the AI considers them to be "flying", and so won't target them unless the AI has code to deal with it (like the rocket tank)?

[Red Devil]

 Except for making one small fix to one of them I didn't do any of the stock AIP's.

I still think Natty's G66 AI and bases are the best/hardest ones I've seen. Greenheart's AI and bases are really good ones too (especially Firestorm).

Here's a shot of what I did when messing about on my own with a stock one (HighLow):

[llulla]

It should be as wug says. I only noticed (maybe it is my wrong impression) a slight disbalance in CPUs unit production.

While playing Chill in Hard mode and Std. set I set up minimal base that gave me only Sabres  and attacked immediately all extractors or biometal wells in the middle or close to Scion base. Doing so I managed to keep off the scion domination 5 out of 7 biometal pools, sometimes simply destroying the scavs that wanted to deploy. This from the start of the game and not as a return and recapture of the pools. Like this CPU had only 2 pools more or less under continuous control.
YET, I got hit with a continuous stream of Maulers, too many!!!!.  This made me think of cheat but probably is simply a faster rate of production or I have all my calculations wrong. Two upgraded Extractors 20s and 30x2 = 60s Recycler time it is at best 80s per Mauler. If you count the continuous build of Scavs that I destroy regularly, it should be like 1 Mauler in 2 minutes.
That continues unless I take the 6th pool at the SW corner of the map and CPU switches to Archers and Warriors.

[wug]

Ah yes, the AI's recycler does regain scrap faster than the player's does.  This would account for the difference.  But this has always been the case for as far back as I can remember, and not something controlled by AIPs.

The AI also gets other slight advantages, like certain weapon upgrades for free and base defenses at the start, but these advantages don't really amount to much versus a human player.

Besides, a human player almost always ends up collecting more scrap, since the AI will "deposit" scrap right next to the player's gun towers.

Not hard to guess what my favourite unit is.   Tactically, the Mauler has the best set of attributes - it is one of the fastest units (takes about half as long to mount an attack vs. other assault units), it has a massively powerful weapon (if it can get close enough), it is the most fun to dogfight (IMHO), and it's not snipeable.

If the AI advantages really bother you, try "Easy", where the AI is intentionally crippled.

[llulla]

You're kidding wug? I am trying to play the chating levels beacuse that is real fun. Unfortunately it makes you tear your hair off (if having left any ) but sometimes  I manage to survive with the Difficult set ... only for a while:-D.  Thanks for explaining because was only curious, but HARD is the name of the game.

[llulla]

I played almost all stock 1.3 maps and I played a lot of maps from 1.2 that do not use all the new things introduced by 1.3 Now my first impression is almost a certainty: the AI units of 1.3 are MUCH LESS RESPONSIVE than before.
This is not about Sabres and Maulres.  Sentries and Warriors will pass  RT lines and these wake up ONLY after they have gone through. Turrets fare a little better but still will engage a Scout only when it is under the nose.  Repair Trucks stay with the back to the crumbling GTs only a few feet away and so on. I will try to Capture the funny situations where a Sabre sleeps on duty ( or is having a drink) while some metres away a RT is taking the spit from a Mauler .
It doesen't hurt much to have lazy units because it give some more advantages to CPU controlled AIs, making the play more rough. It makes me a little confused if  for example I do some F.E. play(Hadean fan) and than jump to 1.3 maps to round up the evening .